Published: November 08, 2009 11:48 pm      

BASKETBALL: Niagara to honor '69-'70 team at home opener

The younger fans will be bringing their purple pajamas to the Gallagher Center next Tuesday. The older fans will bring their memories. In the midst of the men’s basketball teams home opener, which will get under way at 8 a.m. and will be televised on ESPN, Niagara University plans to recognize the upcoming 40th anniversary of its first NCAA tournament berth. The event will bring Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Calvin Murphy, the program’s all-time leading scorer, and Frank Layden, coach of the legendary team, on campus together for the first time since 1970.

The Team

Despite having gone just 11-13 the year before, Niagara had high hopes for the ’69-70 season, with five returning starters and two promising additions.

“This team could explode and have a great season,” Layden told the Gazette before the opener. “On the other hand, we could lose a few close ones, develop senioritis, and have a disappointing year.”

Niagara had a national profile, due almost entirely to Murphy, who had averaged more than 35 points per game over the past two seasons. In leading Niagara to 22 wins as a senior, Murphy’s scoring average was 29.4, not up to his established standard, but still good for eighth in the country.

“We had a more balanced team that year so Calvin didn’t have to produce as many points,” assistant coach Dick Conover said from his home in Connecticut.

Marshall Wingate, the top scorer on the freshman team the year before, averaged 11.3 points off the bench in his sophomore season. The Purple Eagles also got more than 21 points per game combined from their two 6-foot-5 frontcourt players, Steve Schafer and Bob Churchwell.

“Schafer and Churchwell weren’t that big but they were real tough on the boards,” Conover said. “We needed to get those rebounds to get it out to Murphy on the fast break.”

Fifth starter Mike Samuel added 8.8 points and 4.7 rebounds a night, along with solid defense, while Wayne Jones, a junior college transfer, provided another spark of the bench, averaging 9.5 points and 8.0 boards.

Running the offense was Mike Brown, who went from being a 30-point scorer at Lockport High School, to prototypical playmaker at Niagara.

“He was one of the greatest shooters to ever play the game, including myself,” Murphy said recently. “But his true talents were never shown. He sacrificed his game to make me a star.”

The Season

Like this current flock of Purple Eagles, the ’69-70 team thrilled fans with a fast-paced, tenacious style. They were even entertaining during warmups, thanks to a brainstorm from Layden had during a scouting trip to Tennessee the year before.

“They put on like a circus before the game,” Conover said. “They had guys pedaling on unicycles, doing all kinds of crazy stuff. Frank, in his creative and genius way, said ‘We’ve got to do this. We’ve got one of the best, most colorful players in the country.”

Wearing bright-colored, paisley-patterned bell-bottoms, the Purple Eagles performed their own rendition of the Harlem Globetrotters fancy passing routine, centered around Murphy, who alternately stood, sat and sprawled on the floor while dribbling, then ended the show with a no-look hook shot from the top of the key.

“That got everybody excited, especially on the road,” Layden said. “We got some national attention for that.”

Niagara matched their win total from the year prior before suffering its first loss, setting a school record with 11 wins to open the season, including a triumph over sixth-ranked Tennessee at the All-College Tournament in Oklahoma City. The Vols led the nation in scoring defense that season, but Niagara ran them off the floor.

The Purple Eagles got up to No. 12 in the national rankings before losing twice in three nights at Villanova and Saint Peter’s. They followed that up by winning eight of 10, improving to 19-4 with a 72-70 win over St. John’s in front of an overflow crowd at the Gallagher Center, then called the Student Center.

The Tournament

Posted outside the locker room during preseason was a list of three goals Layden laid out for the ’69-70 team, all things that had yet to be accomplished with one of college basketball’s all-time greats: have a winning season, win the Little Three championship, and go to the National Invitation Tournament.

Turns out, the Purple Eagles hit just one of those three goals. Of their five regular season losses, two came against Little Three rival St. Bonaventure squad, an eventual Final Four participant with Buffalo Bob Lanier in the middle. But the season was good enough to merit a spot in the NIT. Better than that, in fact.

In late February, Layden took a call from Ben Carnevale, Eastern Regional director for the NCAA. The Purple Eagles were one of nine independents being asked to join the 16 conference champions in the tournament to decide a national championship.

“We wanted to go to the NIT. We thought we could win that tournament,” Layden said this week from his home in Salt Lake City, Utah. “I didn’t know if we could win the NCAAs. But there was pressure to go because we had never been there before.”

The Purple Eagles still had three more regular games to play before the NCAAs. They would lose to St. Bonaventure once more, but picked up wins over Syracuse and Canisius for the program’s first 20-win season since 1958.

Niagara’s first round opponent was Ivy League champion Penn, the seventh-ranked team in the country, and a group so confident that it had already booked plane tickets to South Carolina for the second round, and ordered a steak dinner for its next pregame meal.

As former Gazette sports editor Bill McGrath wrote on several occasions, Niagara ate Penn’s dinner, literally and figuratively. Playing on the Princeton campus, Niagara fell behind by nine early, but wound up with a 79-69 upset win. Murphy scored 35 in the game, and Churchwell had a 14-14 double-double.

“I thought Frank was brilliant in that game,” Conover said. “He had a whole game plan. We usually played a lot of man-to-man because we were quick but not big. We played zone in that game, and every time Penn made a run, I got nervous and suggested we should switch to man. But he stayed patient.

“... We also had a high pick-and-roll play for Murphy that we ran all year for him going right. I don’t ever remember us doing it to the left, but Frank just instinctively switched it at halftime and it worked very well.”

Niagara’s title quest ended with a second-round loss to Villanova, which proved to big inside. Another loss to North Carolina State in the consolation game put the final record at 22-7.

It would be 35 years before the Purple Eagles got back to the NCAA tournament. Seven times they lost conference championship games that would have granted them entry.

The Celebration

A few years back, Niagara held a 100th anniversary celebration for the basketball program, but Layden was sick and could not attend. There’s never been a gathering of the ’69-70 team before, and Layden is happy to be in good health for this upcoming reunion after a battle with pneumonia that put him in the hospital for a couple days over the summer.

“I can’t believe its been 40 years already,” Layden said. “It’s going to be wonderful to see everybody.”

Sadly, the event will be missing deceased players Brown and Schafer. Murphy said last month that he is dedicating the weekend to his co-captain, Brown, who had just died in California.

The team will be recognized during the game, and again at a 12:30 p.m. luncheon to be held at the Como Restaurant. Tickets for the event are $20 with a valid game ticket, or $30 for just the luncheon, and can be purchased by calling 286-8600.

“As you get older, these memories warm your heart,” Conover said. “And when you see all the people that made those memories, its a wonderful feeling.”

Layden and his wife, Barbara, will also be given the St. Vincent de Paul Award at the annual Niagara University President’s Dinner at 6 p.m. Saturday at the Seneca Niagara Casino. Tickets for that event can be obtained by calling 286-8779.

In addition to winning 119 games in nine seasons on Monteagle Ridge, Layden also supported Niagara’s theater department by performing the play “That Championship Season” in 1974. They reprised their roles in a 2004 return visit.

“Acting was more than just a hobby for us,” Layden said.

Barbara Layden, who was introduced to her future husband by another famous coach, Marquette’s Al McGuire, was known as the “designated Mom” to the ’69-70 team. During her time in the Niagara area, she became an advocate for abused children and battered women.

“The Laydens are being honored for their generosity, kindness and the Vincentian ideals they bring to the lives of others,” a university press release stated.

The Legacy

In the last five years, Joe Mihalich has coached Niagara to two NCAA tournaments and, last year, the NIT. The latest banner will be raised prior to next Tuesday’s game, and Mihalich is happy that Layden will be there to see it.

“Those guys put us on the map,” Mihalich said. “We talk about it a lot. I think our players do know that there is a fantastic basketball tradition here.”

One of Mihalich’s favorite office decorations is from the 2007 Cable Car Classic in San Francisco. Layden was in attendance, and when Niagara won the tournament, he was invited into the celebration photo.

“Frank Layden talked to the team when we were there about the history of Niagara basketball, but he also said to make your own history,” Mihalich said. “That’s always stuck with us.”

The Purple Eagles made history last year when they hosted an NIT game for the first time. As per tradition, players and coaches were given watches for taking part in the tournament. Mihalich had one sent to Layden. He was wearing it while being interviewed on last week.

“When I think about the (’69-70) team, it was a team that played together. They understand who Calvin was, and there was great chemistry,” Layden said. “I see that with Joe’s teams. He does a great job.”

Layden went on to coach the Utah Jazz, and was named Coach of the Year in 1984. Later that year, he drafted John Stockton, and picked Karl Malone in the middle rounds of the following draft. That tandem would lead the Jazz to the NBA Finals twice while Layden was a top-ranking executive. But that was not the pinnacle of his career.

“Coaching at my alma mater was the highlight,” Layden said. “We had great guys on those teams, and it was a wonderful experience.”

Contact reporter Jonah Bronstein at 282-2311, ext. 2258.



If You Go

• WHAT: Niagara honors its 1969-70 men’s basketball team that advanced to the NCAA tournament.

• WHEN: Nov. 17

• WHERE: The team will be introduced during the home opener at 8 a.m. at the Gallagher Center, which will be followed by a 12:30 p.m. luncheon at the Como Restaurant.

• TICKETS: Call 286-8600



1969-70 Niagara Roster

Name Class Position Height Hometown Points Average

Calvin Murphy Sr. G 5-10 Norwalk, Conn. 854 29.4

Marshall Wingate So. F 6-4 New York City 329 11.3

Steve Schafer Sr. F 6-5 Philadelphia 268 11.2

Bob Churchwell Sr. F 6-6 286 9.9

Wayne Jones Jr. F 6-4 Hartford, Conn. 227 9.5

Mike Samuel Sr. G 6-3 New York City 254 8.8

Mike Brown Sr. G 5-10 Lockport 163 6.8

Paul Thornton So. G 6-2 Norwich, Conn. 28 1.2

Joe Adomanis Sr. F 6-6 Philadelphia 12 0.8

Pete Aiello So. G 6-1 Olean 9 0.7

Mike Whalen So. C 6-7 Dayton, Ohio 5 0.5

Orlander Harrison So. C 6-5 Richmond, Va. 4 0.4

Ed Street So. F 6-4 Newark, N.J. 2 0.4

Dennis Kachovec So. C 6-7 Piqua, Ohio 4 2.0

Dick Fitzgerald Jr. F 6-5 Whitesboro, N.Y. 0 0.0

Frank Layden, head coach

Dick Conover, assistant coach

Joe DiGregorio, assistant coach

Allan Gray, manager